Your Taxes Are Literally Paying Trump to Run for President
A new filing by the Trump campaign for the Federal Election Committee reveals the campaign has received $1.6 million in taxpayer money to fly U.S. Secret Service agents on a plane owned by—you guessed it—Donald Trump.
According to Politico, the agency always reimburses presidential candidates and other officials for the cost of traveling with the candidates. The difference is although the Secret Service has reimbursed the Clinton campaign some $2.6 million, Trump owns the plane he travels on through TAG Air Inc. As Politico notes, “the government is effectively paying him.”
"It's just another example of how the Trump campaign has taken an unprecedentedly large amount of its money and spent it at Trump-owned facilities," campaign finance lawyer Brett Kappel told Politico.
It was also revealed last week that the Trump campaign has spent some $8.2 million on Trump-owned businesses throughout the campaign. The candidate, who famously said he could be the first presidential candidate to "run and make money on it" is proving that sentiment true. In March, he famously held a “press conference” at his golf course in Florida which essentially just acted as a de facto informercial for the hotel.
Trump wines, water, and steaks on display at the Trump press conference tonight. https://t.co/iDYpo57XHZ— Katy Tur (@Katy Tur) 1457482500
“The campaign has used known quantities as far as event space, air travel and accommodations, and has fulfilled all FEC requirements throughout the campaign,” the Trump campaign claimed Thursday, adding any reporting to the contrary is “misleading and flat-out wrong.”
But the receipts speak for themselves, and while Trump’s taxpayer-funded Secret Service detail pays the Trump campaign for flights—and accommodations at Trump’s hotels—the U.S. government will continue to cut checks that go directly into Trump’s pockets.
